Apple Could Make Inroads at the Deparment of Defense

The Defense Department will continue to take new bids for its suppliers of smartphones. The BlackBerry, made by Canada's Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM), has most of that business, but the new bids could change that.

The media have been quick to point out the obvious. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) could get a stronghold in the Pentagon, and is likely to, because it has products widely favored in the market.

But it is too early to assume that the BlackBerry cannot hold most of its position. BlackBerry software comes with secure servers, which makes it ideal for creating secure systems. That may be more important than the popularity of any one device.

Reuters reports that despite BlackBerry's advantage:

Losing some of its Pentagon business to other providers could deal another blow to RIM, which once commanded the lead in the smartphone market but has rapidly lost ground to Apple and Samsung's line of products as customers abandon its aging BlackBerry devices.